Beginnings
by rscoil
Summary: A chess game turns into an unexpected beginning.


"You are disrupting genius, Daroga. Tread carefully."

He only shrugged amiably. I suppose one does have to follow through on a threat occasionally if one is to remain threatening. We both knew all too well that he was the one person on this earth who was safe from my wrath. A life debt will do that.

An hour later, he was moving his queen forward a few squares and smiling smugly as though he'd won. Fool. Three turns later, I claimed his king.

"Daroga, why are you here?"

"Why are any of us here, Erik?"

"You know very well what I'm asking. This is the fifth time you've been down here this week. I assume it's not because you enjoy losing at chess, nor that you come for sparkling conversation from Erik. Generally, when a person retreats to a secret house underground, it's an indication that they do not wish to be disturbed! And yet, this is a concept you seem unwilling to grasp! What is Erik to do with you? Do you not have anyone else to pester?"

He shifted uncomfortably. I guessed that I had come very close to the truth.

"No, I do not have anyone else to pester."

There was a long, awkward pause before he spoke again.

"I am lonely, Erik. Sometimes, I want someone to talk to."

I am not now, nor will I ever be, a master of socializing. The admission took me by surprise.

"And Erik is the top of the list? Tell me, Daroga. You spend enough time upstairs. Why not find yourself a dancing girl? You have normal enough features. You could marry, even."

He shook his head. "I am as much of a ghost to those people as you are. They look right through me. Regardless, I have no interest in dancing girls."

"A chorus girl, perhaps?"

"No, Erik. No women of any profession."

"Surely, you are not the type to think a woman should be all but caged in a home and not allowed to work!"

He gazed at me patiently.

"Oh."

He chuckled. "Genius indeed. How long have you known me? Ten years and you never wondered why there were no women in my life?"

"Erik has other things to think about than the daroga's romantic escapades!"

"Right. You've got to keep track of your hectic social life. Too many friends to count!"

"You are swimming in dangerous waters, Daroga."

"And so what if I am?"

His challenge hung in the air between us. The whole thing felt pivotal.

For years, I have used a mask as a shield between myself and the world around me. On occasion, it has been removed under duress. In such moments, the shock is almost satisfying. I've won a number of fights purely because it is very difficult to defeat an opponent if you cannot bring yourself to look at them. In those instances, my peculiarity is a weapon. It brings a situation under Erik's control.

That was precisely what I needed in this moment.

The mask came off and the daroga stared. He'd seen me perform, knew what lies beneath the mask, but never like this. Never so closely and never in a social context.

"Have a look, Daroga. If you're lucky, Erik may not even charge!" Without conscious thought, I was upon him, my grotesque visage inches from his.

"Ah, isn't Erik so very handsome? The people of Paris beg him to attend their soirees! You have seen the life his face has given him, and yet you taunt him for it! See, Daroga! Erik was not always so attractive! The little sultana made her mark as well! Kept as a laboratory rat, or perhaps an organ grinder's pet monkey! Your countrymen found it far too entertaining. Oh, they laughed, Daroga. But the last laugh was mine!"

"And the daroga believes Erik worth saving, that he can be saved at all. He does not know that it is to be an it. Not a person with a name, but a shape with a label! Erik forgets, sometimes, that he is supposed to be human. Tell him, does he look like a man?"

My tirade was cut short by the sudden, unexpected pressure of his lips on my dead mouth. Warm arms pulled my torso against his.

Kind human touch for the first time in my living memory. My body felt as though the bones had turned to soup, even as my posture went rigid from the unfamiliar contact.

He released me at last, cheeks burning with his discomfort.

"I'm sorry. I forgot myself."

"You wished to kiss Erik?"

"Yes, clearly."

"Nobody wishes to kiss Erik. Nobody wishes contact with him."

His eyes were sad. "I am here, as I always have been. You could order me away right now, if you wanted. Or, if you wanted something else, that could be arranged. The choice is yours."


End file.
